Craig "Speedy" Claxton became the first Hofstra player to earn the Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award in over 20 years. On Thursday, April 27, 2000, the 5-11 hometown guard was named the top men's basketball player in the metropolitan area by the NIT/MBWA at the 67th annual Collegiate Awards presentation at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, NJ.   

Claxton averaged 22.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.0 assists in leading Hofstra to its first NCAA tournament appearance in 23 years. He had two 40-point games and scored 39 in the last game played in the Physical Fitness Center. A 2,000-point scorer,

A first round pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2000 NBA Draft, Claxton was a member of the 2003 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs. He enjoyed a decade-long NBA career before announcing his retirement in 2010. In 2006 he was second in the NBA Sixth Man of the Year voting after averaging 12.3 points and 4.8 assists for the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. During his NBA career he averaged 9.3 points and 4.3 assists per game.

While he spent few seasons after retiring as an assistant on the Hofstra sidelines he now serves as a college scout for the Golden State Warriors.